Under bright, chilly skies this past Tuesday, with a steam shovel in the background, key members of the Martha’s Vineyard YMCA broke ground for a new teen center.

People at the Y are excited; make that very excited. In the planning stage for many years, the Alexandra Gagnon Teen Center is a significant accomplishment, not only for the Y and the people who have worked on it but for the teens themselves and the community at large. “It’s huge for us,” said Tony Lombardi, teen center director. “The Y just opened its doors last June,” added marketing director Emily Galligan. The teen center is phase two in the Y’s plan, and the facility is slated to open for the summer of 2011.

Mr. Lombardi, who has worked at the teen center since its inception in 2005 at Cottagers Corner, was named director last March. “The Island realized we need a center for the community, and they went with it,” he said.

YMCA executive director Jill Robie said the early building of the teen center has been made possible by a restricted donation from the Alexandra MM Gagnon Foundation (alexfoundationmv.org). The fund is administered by Jacques and Marfi Gagnon, parents of Alex Gagnon, who died in her early 20s. The foundation Web site notes that it was created “from a trust she had inherited as a little girl. The bulk of the current assets come from investment returns and from your donations.”

The site further explains: “Although we mention all the nonprofits we support on the Island of Martha’s Vineyard, it must be clear to anyone visiting our site that our emphasis is the YMCA and in particular its Alexandra Gagnon Teen Center.“

The Y itself still carries a $3 million debt and is actively fundraising to pay it down.

Mr. Lombardi bubbles with excitement about the programs planned for the new center. “It will have the components of any good teen center, a safe haven for kids, to do homework, to hang out,” he said. But there is a more. The center is also intended to be a healthy island in a storm of risky teen behavior from substance abuse to bullying.

Initial plans called for a 2,200-square-foot building designed as a multipurpose space with a lounge to screen movies, hold dances and offer individual programs, such as health and fitness. Now the plans have expanded and space has doubled to include a basement area to house a state-of-the-art technology center. A Comcast grant for a Studio 57 digital literacy program will incorporate studio recording, film production and screenwriting workshops. Mentors will be invited to assist in film and audio production. “We want to bring positive role models to teens on the Island,” Mr. Lombardi said.

He envisions the teen center, along with the high school, MVTV and Featherstone Center for the Arts, as the “auto mile of technology” on the Vineyard. Each organization is a link in a chain of technology programs for young adults. “It’s going to be versatile; we can change with the generations,” Mr. Lombardi said.

Currently, the teen center is open on Thursdays from 5 to 8 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 6 to 11 p.m., in temporary quarters at the Y. The hours will expand greatly once the new center opens.

The Y plans to partner with other community teen programs on the Island, and new programs are being planned for middle-school students.

“It’s exciting to see the impact the Y has already had, not just on youth, but on families,” Ms. Robie said.

“The [Gagnon] foundation will keep Alex’s memory alive with the creation of this teen center. The Vineyard should be proud to be part of that endeavor,” the foundation Web site says.

Already the teen center at the Y has become a cool place to hang out. It has a Facebook page. It has a café. A recent open mike program drew dozens of teens. A teen advisory council has been formed.

“It’s not just a Y, it’s a Vineyard Y, a Vineyard thing,” said Mr. Lombardi.

The Alexandra Gagnon Teen Center has arrived. At press time, the steam shovel was busy digging out space for the foundation.